California

CA GOP Dubs Self 'Party Of Yes', Then Calls For Vote Of 'No'

Igor Bobic | May 4, 2012, 1:01PM

California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro

The California Republican Party, dubbed the "Party of No" for years by Democratic lawmakers, sought to rebrand its image at a Thursday press conference in Sacramento by calling themselves the "Party of Yes."

"So often, we have to rely on others to say what we believe and who we are and what we think," Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway said, reports Southern California Public Radio. "And I always prefer to do that for myself."

The press conference kicked off a statewide tour ahead of next month's GOP primary as well as a push to counter a new $9 billion tax initiative, backed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D), which is intended to help close California's notorious budget deficit. Republican lawmakers appeared before a "Party of Yes" banner (image here) and touted their affirmative support for jobs, fiscal responsibility and tax relief, but then called for a "no" vote on the new tax measure.

"Jerry Brown is turning in his signatures as we speak to make that (top tax rate) the highest rate in the country," said California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro of the initiative, the Sacramento Bee reports. "We think that's the wrong way to go."

To their credit, however, California's Republicans haven't always said "no" to everything. Back in February, they turned the tables on Democrats and supported Brown's 12-point plan to overhaul public pensions -- a key Democratic interest.

Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

Key Dem: 'Wrong' To Say GOP Waging A War On Women

Sahil Kapur | April 8, 2012, 11:05AM

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)

Democrats didn't have their message straight on Sunday.

In separate segments on CNN's State of the Union, two top Democrats differed on whether Republicans are waging a "war on women," a central line of attack that Democrats have reaped big political gains for amid the GOP's recent push to limit access to contraception.

DNC chair and Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, pressed on whether it's fair to accuse Republicans of waging a war on women, didn't concede an inch.

"The focus of the Republican Party on turning back the clock for women really is something that's unacceptable and shows how callous and insensitive they are towards women's priorities," she said.

Since 2011, Republicans have pushed various bills that would restrict access to abortion and women's health services. The DNC chairwoman cited those efforts as well as the GOP's opposition to legislation establishing equal pay for women as evidence that the party's policies are antithetical to women's interests.

Later on the same show, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and an influential African-American voice, strongly pushed back on his own party's line of attack.

When Clever, a United Methodist pastor, lit into the GOP's claim that President Obama is anti-religion, social conservative Ralph Reed retorted, "Congressman, is it similarly wrong, then, for Democrats to say that the Republican Party is engaged in a war on women? Is that wrong?"

"Yes, that is wrong. And I've never said it, not one time," Cleaver responded. "I condemn it. If it's a Democrat, if it's my cousin, it's wrong."

"We have got to quit exaggerating our political differences," he said.

Dems, including Obama, have enjoyed a significant boost among women voters in recent polls while hammering the message that Republicans are waging a "war on women." Democrats have so far been able to press that attack without dissent from within, but remarks like Cleaver's could give the GOP an opening to push back.

Medicare

GOP Slams Dems For Medicare Cuts Republicans Support

Sahil Kapur | March 25, 2012, 9:45AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Houser Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

The latest "Mediscare" battle is rife with irony: Republicans are attacking a Medicare policy enacted by Democrats, even though they voted overwhelmingly to continue the policy last year and are supporting it again this year.

In a new TV ad, the House GOP's electoral arm NRCC targets Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) for backing President Obama health care reform law, declaring that it will "decimate Medicare" and "shred the social safety net and leave seniors vulnerable at risk." The NRCC is also launching robocalls in 13 Democratic-held districts slamming the members over the Medicare cuts in the reform law.

The Affordable Care Act reduces Medicare spending by some $500 billion over 10 years, mostly with reimbursement cuts to private insurers and health providers -- the reductions do not touch benefits. The aim was to reduce over-payments and strengthen the life of the safety-net program.

As it turns out, nearly every Republican in the House and Senate voted last year to sustain those cuts in the Paul Ryan budget. And they're set to do so again in the near future as his updated Path To Prosperity blueprint comes up for a vote. That's the context of these ads -- Republicans know Democrats are about to hit them hard for again pushing a plan that partially privatizes Medicare and ends the coverage guarantee, so they're making a pre-emptive strike.

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IPAB

Liberals Push Back Against GOP's Latest Salvo In Battle Over Medicare

Sahil Kapur | March 6, 2012, 6:00AM

President Barack Obama speaks on the economy in Shaker Heights, OH on January 4, 2012.

House Republicans are set to advance legislation to repeal a key plank of President Obama's health care law -- the cost-cutting Independent Payment Advisory Board -- and have enlisted several Democrats for a cause that's central to the conservative goal of phasing out traditional Medicare.

On Tuesday, the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee is set to pass repeal of IPAB. The Ways & Means health subcommittee will also hold a hearing on it, bringing the measure closer to a floor vote, and advancing an ongoing fight about whether the government or private insurers should parcel finite health care resources.

While progressive health care reformers have effectively attacked the GOP's vision of a subsidized private health insurance system for seniors, they've been slow to close ranks around the health care law's competing vision of a leaner, more efficient Medicare. But there are signs this is changing.

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White House

How The White House Will Fight The GOP On Gas Prices

Sahil Kapur | March 5, 2012, 11:10AM

President Obama talks about gas prices and energy policies at a packed crowd at University of Miami

Republicans have seized on rising gas prices as a political weapon against President Obama. The White House, sensing peril in the attacks as the election gets closer, has mounted a plan to fight back. And rather than simply playing defense, officials believe they can win the messaging war, tough as that may seem, by defending Obama's record and exploiting weaknesses in the GOP energy platform.

"If drilling were the answer, we wouldn't be having this conversation, because under the president production is up," a White House official told TPM. "Our oil imports are down, and even Republicans have conceded we're in a domestic energy boom."

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Budget

House GOP Caught In A New Budget Predicament

Sahil Kapur | March 5, 2012, 6:26AM

For most observers, the biggest question about the House Republicans' forthcoming budget is how they'll handle the issue of Medicare. Will they readopt the same phase-out and privatize policy that got them into political trouble last year? Or will they, at least to some extent, scale back their vision?

But the bigger question has nothing to do with Medicare. The bigger question is whether House Republicans can pass a budget at all.

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Obamacare

Why The 2012 Election May Be The GOP's Only Chance To Repeal Health Care Reform

Sahil Kapur | January 10, 2012, 5:23AM

President Barack Obama speaks on the economy in Shaker Heights, OH on January 4, 2012.

Before she dropped out of the GOP presidential race, Michele Bachmann waxed apocalyptic about how 2012 is the Republican Party's only chance to repeal the health reform law. "We cannot afford to have a candidate who fails to understand the complexity of Obamacare or the urgency of its repeal," the Minnesota congresswoman said in an often-repeated line. "Because, we have only have one chance for repeal, and that's 2012."

There's truth to this statement: if Republicans fail to capture the presidency this time around, repealing some or all of the law becomes far more difficult later, even if the GOP sweeps Congress in 2012 and wins the White House in 2016 with equal determination to squash it.

"The 2012 election will be the most important in the history of our health care system because it will determine whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is implemented or repealed," wrote Harvard health policy expert David Blumenthal in the New England Journal of Medicine. "The consequences for Americans and their health care will be huge."

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Eric Holder

Holder: GOP Cuts To COPS Program 'Place This Nation At Risk'

Ryan J. Reilly | November 8, 2011, 12:26PM

House Republican's plan to kill the Justice Department's Community Orienting Policing Services (COPS) program is "unacceptable" and would "place this nation at risk," Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

"Though we are enjoying historically low crime rates, we have 30,000 vacant law enforcement positions in this county, we have lost 12,000 officers over the course of the last year, and we put at risk the possibility that these historically low rates will not remain there forever," Holder said in response to a question from Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

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Barack Obama

Three's A Trend: Polls Show Voters Believe GOP Intentionally Stalling Economic Recovery

Brian Beutler | November 7, 2011, 1:28PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and President Barack Obama

President Obama and the Democrats have succeeded at convincing voters that Republicans are trying to delay economic recovery, according to a series of recent polls.

The new data suggests that about half the country, including a majority of self-identified independents, believe that congressional Republicans are using their political power to thwart Obama's efforts to reduce unemployment, presenting Democrats an opportunity to make this argument more explicitly as the 2012 campaign moves forward -- to undercut Republicans' claims that Obama and the Dems bear full responsibility for the economy, and to make their pattern of obstruction a real liability for them.

Suffolk University polled registered voters in Florida and found that nearly half of voters, including large minorities of conservatives and Republicans, believed "Republicans are intentionally stalling efforts to jump-start the economy to insure that Barack Obama is not re-elected?"

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Barack Obama

GOP Takes Aim At Companies On Obama's Jobs Council

Susan Crabtree | October 20, 2011, 12:14PM

House Republicans are no longer content to use the investigative powers of Congress to go after President Obama's healthcare overhaul by compelling Obama administration to cough up information and testify before their committees.

In recent weeks, the GOP has launched a dragnet for internal information from companies with ties to the White House about the healthcare law and its impact on business.

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GOP

Poll: Majority Of Americans Don't Know What GOP Stands For

David Taintor | October 4, 2011, 8:33AM

The GOP swept into the congressional majority during the 2010 midterm elections, but according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll, a majority of Americans couldn't tell you what those three letters stand for.

Grumpy Old People? Gauntlet of Power? Try again. According to the poll, only 45 percent of Americans answered correctly: Grand Old Party. Other guesses included Government of the People (35 percent) and God's Own Party (wishful thinking, but only 3 percent).

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2012

Rubio's Reagan Speech: Entitlements "Weakened" Us

Thomas Lane | August 24, 2011, 5:30PM

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)

Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) seems to be the "right" man for the "right" time. Indeed, there's now so much speculation that he'll take the VP slot of next year's GOP presidential ticket that one wag recently tweeted, "Is it time to rename GOP primaries 'the contest to become Marco Rubio's running mate'?"

The GOP heartthrob delivered a much-anticipated speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday. The address was packed with the red meat Tea Party audiences crave, and at its heart was the reddest meat of all: a "things-ain't-what-they-used-to-be" take-down of entitlement programs.

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Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty: I Heart The Minnesota Shutdown

Eric Kleefeld | July 8, 2011, 6:05AM

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Tim Pawlenty, who retired as governor of Minnesota and almost immediately moved towards a national campaign for president, is now back in the thick of politics back home -- with Pawlenty vocally supporting state Republican legislators in a government shutdown fight against Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton.

Pawlenty, who is struggling to break out in the presidential field, has been cheering on the Republicans in his home state -- and likening them to Republicans in Washington who are holding out on the debt ceiling. On Thursday, during an Iowa/Facebook Townhall event, he boasted in remarks that were e-mailed out on his campaign press-list:

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Newt Gingrich

The Incredible Shrinking Newt: Gingrich's Support Crumbling In Polls

Jon Terbush | June 16, 2011, 5:45AM

Newt Gingrich has found one issue Americans of all political stripes can come together over: their mutual dislike of him.

When the race to 2012 first started to gain steam early this year, Gingrich was seen as a viable contender, a big-name Republican with a strong brand and the cash to back a White House bid. But after a bungled rollout marred by gaffes and controversies, the always polarizing Gingrich has alienated not just Democrats, but his own party as well.

Over the past few months -- essentially, shortly after he made his campaign official -- Gingrich's favorability rating has plummeted with Republicans.

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Planned Parenthood

Georgia Republican Tries To Explain How Abortion Rider Is About Jobs (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | April 8, 2011, 1:40PM

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) says that Republican freshmen in the House want Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to stick to his guns in budget negotiations ahead of the impending government shutdown. "This is all about jobs," Gingrey said, adding that it was about principle and not politics.

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John Boehner

Abortion Riders Prove Effective Wedge For Democrats in Government Shutdown Fight

Benjy Sarlin | April 8, 2011, 12:36PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has insisted over and over again that his party is not going to shut the government down over social issues. But Democrats maintain that funding for Planned Parenthood and other provisions targeting abortion are the prime sticking point -- and their message appears to be taking hold, even among some key GOP lawmakers.

A growing number of pro-life Republicans and conservative activists are publicly pressuring Boehner to drop the issue. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), known as one of the toughest social conservatives in Congress, told MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan on April 6 that they were unrealistic demands.

"My recommendation to my friends in the House is, you know, it's highly unlikely many riders are going to get passed with a Democrat president and Democrat Senate, so why don't you take the spending and let's get on to the budget," he said.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) another pro-life conservative echoed his call on MSNBC Thursday, saying the GOP should "move on."

"I'd like to defund Planned Parenthood, but I understand that Republicans don't have complete control of the elected government," Toomey said. "I think what we should do is cut spending as much as we can, get the policy changes that we can, but move on, because there are other, bigger battles that we are fighting."

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Blake Farenthold

GOP Frosh On Government Shutdown: Planned Parenthood Rider Makes Up For Smaller Cuts

Ryan J. Reilly | April 8, 2011, 12:12PM

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX)

A Republican freshman member of the House says that riders on the continuing resolution bill -- like the one that bans funding for Planned Parenthood -- could make up for the fact that the GOP didn't cut a full $100 billion from President Barack Obama's budget proposal.

Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) told TPM that the showdown is over two things: "keeping our promises to the people that elected us to cut spending and implement some policy changes."

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Mitt Romney

Romney's Team Grows: Key 2008 Advisor Returns

Melissa Jeltsen | March 28, 2011, 10:41AM

A key adviser to Mitt Romney during his unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid is back on board, his PAC announced Monday. Lanhee Chen will serve as the policy director of Romney's PAC, Free and Strong America.

Chen tweeted early Monday morning: "It's good to be back with Team Romney."

Chen was Romney's domestic policy director in 2008. Prior to that, Chen served as a health policy adviser to former President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, and went on to work as a senior policy aide at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

More recently, he was deputy campaign manager for Steve Poizner's bid for the Republican nomination in California's 2010 gubernatorial election. Poizner was defeated in the primary by Meg Whitman.

Romney has been on the road lately, setting out his plan to win the Republican nomination.

Reince Priebus

GOP Elects Reince Priebus As 65th RNC Chairman

Brian Beutler | January 14, 2011, 5:24PM

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

On the seventh round of balloting, the Republican National Committee elected Reince Priebus to be its next chairman.

Priebus won 97 votes, followed by Saul Anuzis with 43 and Maria Cino with 28. Michael Steele and Ann Wagner dropped out earlier.

Priebus becomes the 65th chair of the RNC, and takes over a committee that had something of a tumultuous two years with Steele at the helm.

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2012 elections

Rick Santorum Staffs Up In New Hampshire

Jillian Rayfield | January 6, 2011, 11:09AM

Fmr. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is making more moves toward a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, bringing on a strategist to head Santorum's PAC in New Hampshire.

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Taxes

House Republican Proposes 'Abolishing' The Tax Code

Brian Beutler | January 4, 2011, 10:39AM

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)

A source passed along a "Dear Colleague" letter from Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), who proposes "terminating" the tax code and calling on a future Congress to write a new one.

"I will re-introduce legislation that will terminate our broken tax code," Goodlatte writes. "The Tax Code Termination Act will accomplish two goals. It will abolish the Internal Revenue Code by December 31, 2015, and call on Congress to approve a new federal tax system by July of the same year."

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GOP

GOPers Remove 'Labor' From House Committee Name

Ryan J. Reilly | December 24, 2010, 3:05PM

Rep. John Kline (R-MN)

Republicans have decided to excise the word "labor" from the name of the House committee handling education and, yes, labor issues.

It's time to say so long to the Education and Labor Committee and hello to the Education and the Workforce Committee, the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire reports.

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Polls

Poll: Americans Trust Obama More Than Republicans To Guide Country

Jon Terbush | December 15, 2010, 11:31AM

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and President Barack Obama

Voters may have just tossed a whole lot of Democrats to the curb -- at least in the House -- but that doesn't mean they're ready to embrace the Republicans they elected to replace them.

Despite the huge losses suffered by President Obama's party in November, Americans say they trust him more than Congressional Republicans to deal with the nation's problems, according to a Washington-PostABC News poll released yesterday. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed said they trusted Obama more than Republicans to steer the country, versus 48% who said they trusted Republicans more.

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John Boehner

Boehner Cries, Claims He Doesn't Go Tanning In 60 Minutes Interview (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 12, 2010, 8:14PM

Incoming House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who cried during an emotional speech on election night, let the tears flow once again in an interview with Leslie Stahl of "60 Minutes" which aired Sunday.

Stahl asked him why he got choked up on election night.

"Talking, trying to talk about the fact that I've been chasing the American dream my whole career," Boehner said.

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Melody Barnes

White House's Melody Barnes To Progressives: Don't Jump Off The Bridge!

Ryan J. Reilly | December 3, 2010, 9:03AM

You know that scene in "It's A Wonderful Life" where George Bailey is standing on the bridge ready to end it all? That's where White House Director of Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes sees liberals now, as they await the GOP takeover of the House. In her metaphor, Barnes is a guardian angel of sorts, trying her best Thursday night to pull progressives back from the brink.

Speaking at the American Constitution Society's holiday party at the Center for American Progress last night, Barnes drew parallels between the famous Christmas-themed movie (one of her favorite films) and the situation liberals find themselves in post-election 2010.

Yeah, it's bad, Barnes acknowledged. But, she implored, think of how much worse it would have been if Democrats hadn't been in power at all.

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Jon Kyl

Kyl Hounded For $200M 'Earmark' -- But Experts Say It Doesn't Break GOP Ban

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 24, 2010, 3:02PM

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

Democrats today are shopping around what they're saying is a really juicy (if totally predictable) tale of Republican hypocrisy: Just days after the Senate GOP caucus imposed a voluntary moratorium on earmarking, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) dumped $200 million in extra cash for his home state into a spending bill right before final passage.

But experts insisted to TPM today that what Kyl did isn't nearly as clear or egregious as the AP made it out to be.

Here's the AP story Democrats are so excited about:

Only three days after GOP senators and senators-elect renounced earmarks, Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Senate Republican, got himself a whopping $200 million to settle an Arizona Indian tribe's water rights claim against the government. Kyl slipped the measure into a larger bill sought by President Barack Obama and passed by the Senate on Friday to settle claims by black farmers and American Indians against the federal government.

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Rand Paul

Rand Paul Tells TPM That Tea Party Is Shaping Earmark Debate (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | November 16, 2010, 5:09PM

Sen.-elect Rand Paul (R-KY)

Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-KY) was in D.C. on Tuesday, where TPM ran into him and asked for his impressions of the Senate so far. Paul said the Tea Party has already shown its influence through the push for Senate Republicans to ban earmarks.

"We're pretty excited about the fact that we think the Tea Party is shaping the debate," Paul said. "Already, the caucus looks like it is going to move forward to having a ban on earmarks, which is a step towards having a more frugal government."

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CO-GOV

Defeated Tancredo Not Sure He'll Go Back To Being GOPer

Eric Lach | November 8, 2010, 12:51PM

Tom Tancredo

Tom Tancredo, who upset Colorado politics with his third-party gubernatorial bid this year, told The Denver Post that he is "content in the fact that it's part of God's plan" that he lost big at the polls last Tuesday.

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Michele Bachmann

Infighting! Bachmann To Run For House Leadership

Brian Beutler | November 3, 2010, 3:24PM

Michele Bachmann

Conservative Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) -- founder of the Tea Party Caucus -- will make a bid to be part of House leadership next Congress, likely touching off a tough intra-GOP battle for influence over the new majority.

In a message to her supporters on Facebook, Bachmann writes, "I am pleased to announce that I am running for Chairman of the House Republican Conference! Constitutional Conservatives deserve a loud and clear voice in leadership!"

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Mike Pence

Pence To Step Down From GOP Leadership -- Hints At Run For Governor

Brian Beutler | November 3, 2010, 10:47AM

Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) with GOP leaders

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) will step down from his position as the number three Republican in the House.

In a letter to colleagues this morning, Pence informed his colleagues that he won't seek re-election to his leadership post next Congress, hinting that he may soon be unable to fulfill his leadership duties as he prepares a run for Indiana governor.

"As we consider new opportunities to serve Indiana and our nation in the years ahead, I have come to realize that it may not be possible to complete an entire term as Conference Chairman," Pence wrote. "As such, I think it would be more appropriate for me to step aside now, especially since there are other talented men and women in our Conference who could do the job just as well or better."

Pence's ambitions outside of Congress are well known. He's believed to be considering a run for governor of Indiana, and possibly the presidency. As I reported last week, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) is a top candidate to replace Pence as conference chair. You can read the entire letter below the fold.

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Christine O'Donnell

O'Donnell: It's The GOP's Fault I Lost (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | November 3, 2010, 10:41AM

Christine O'Donnell has wasted no time finding a scapegoat for her loss last night to Democrat Chris Coons in Delaware's Senate Race -- and it's the establishment GOP that didn't give her enough support. Calling it "Republican cannibalism," O'Donnell said that the "division" in the Republican Party "that remained even after the primary I think did hurt us."

She added that it also didn't help that the "Delaware GOP leadership, in their attempt to win the primary, they filed a fake FEC complaint against us that was totally baseless," but they never withdrew it.

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Sharron Angle

Harry Reid Defeats Sharron Angle

Brian Beutler | November 3, 2010, 12:43AM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

In most election years, the fact that Harry Reid beat a far right political naif like Sharron Angle wouldn't be big news. But this year its among the biggest and happiest for Democrats all night.

With both MSNBC and Fox calling the race in Reid's favor by shortly after 12:30 a.m. ET, Reid was beating Angle 51 percent to 44 percent with less than half the precincts reporting and the results trending in his favor.

Reid was not supposed to win this election. His approval ratings are terrible in Nevada, where unemployment and foreclosure rates are among the highest in the country. And as the face of the Senate Democrats, his constituents rightly hold him accountable for unpopular Democratic policies that have been unable to prevent economic depression in his state.

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2010 elections

Boehner Cries, GOP Cheers: GOP Claims Victory In The House (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 3, 2010, 12:26AM

John Boehner

NRCC ELECTIONS HQ -- The next Speaker of the House is one emotional dude. As he celebrated the end of Democratic rule in the lower house of Congress with several hundred friends here in downtown Washington, John Boehner broke down and cried while the crowd chanted "USA! USA!"

"I've spent my life trying to chase the American dream," Boehner said, his voice cracking. He went on to espouse the virtues of capitalism and small business ownership in the way that you'd expect from the man who just led the Republican Party back from the political wilderness. Except with more tears.

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CO-GOV

Dan Maes Disaster Could Leave The Colorado GOP A Minor Party

Eric Lach | October 25, 2010, 8:39AM

Dan Maes (R), candidate for Colorado governor

Colorado Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Maes' disaster of a 2010 campaign could turn into a four-year embarrassment for state Republicans. It's been one blunder after another for Maes since he barely won the August 10 primary over former Rep. Scott McInnis, whose campaign was done in by a plagiarism scandal. But if Maes fails to get 10 percent of the vote on election day, his legacy won't be the U.N. bike plot warning or the tall tale of working undercover as a cop in Kansas. It will be leaving Republicans with minor party status in Colorado until 2014.

After weeks of declines in the polls, the TPM Poll Average now shows Maes coming in at 9.3%.

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2012 elections

Report: GOPers Begging Haley Barbour Not To Run For President

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 14, 2010, 8:57AM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

Faced with the prospect of squaring off in 2012 against the first African American president, some Republicans are begging the Governor of Mississippi to stay out of the running. According to Politico's Mike Allen, "a handful of well-known Republicans" will reach out to Gov. Haley Barbour (R) and "urge him, for the good of his party, to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee rather than the party's nomination for president, as he currently plans."

Barbour, who is currently head of the Republican Governors Association -- the "largest pot of party money" on the GOP side, as Allen reports -- will be tempted away from a run at Obama with two tasty plums. First, the argument "that he could make an immediate impact on his party at a critical juncture." Second? "Barbour would get a plum job like ambassador to London" if the Republicans win in 2012.

Barbour, of course, has already served as RNC chair once. He ran the party's headquarters in Washington from 1993-1997. Despite the fact that Bill Clinton was in the White House, the years are remembered fondly by Republicans thanks to the 1994 GOP midterm elections sweep. In comparison to the RNC of today, the era is nothing but salad days for Republicans. Current RNC chair Michael Steele has become something of a laughingstock for political observers, and his tenure has not produced the same kind of fundraising results Barbour brought to the RGA after taking over for avid hiker/South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

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Bush Tax Cuts

GOP Rolls Out Tax Hike Ads

Brian Beutler | October 7, 2010, 11:56AM

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

Republicans promised they'd knock Democrats for not renewing (most of) the Bush tax cuts before hitting the campaign trail, and they're now making good on their word.

A new ad running in Michigan's first congressional district typifies the sort of attacks vulnerable Democrats will facing in the last weeks of campaign season. In the segment the Republican contender, Dan Benishek, saddles his opponent with the looming expiration of the Bush tax cuts.

"I favor lower taxes, not higher taxes," Benishek declares. "What should really scare us is the huge tax increase set for January 1. We should be scared of losing more jobs.... The Obama-Granholm-McDowell jobs strategy has failed."

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2010 elections

Dems Pull Ahead Of GOP By One In Gallup's New Congressional Generic Ballot

Marc Kilstein | September 20, 2010, 6:17PM

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Rep. Chris Van Hollen, (D-MD) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. George Miller (D-CA), and Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)

According to the latest Gallup survey of registered voters, Democrats are now ahead of Republicans on the generic congressional ballot question, with a 46%-45% lead.

Three weeks ago, Gallup reported that the GOP held a 10-point lead in congressional generic polling, marking the highest lead for the party ever registered by Gallup. A week later, the Republicans' Gallup-induced confidence dissipated, as the firm released a poll that countered the previous week's numbers. With that survey's 46%-46% tie, Democrats appeared to be right back in the game. That was until the next week's Gallup poll found Republicans back on top, 48%-43%.

So what does the release of this week's Gallup congressional generic polling numbers tell us about the midterm elections?

Uh, be wary of congressional generic polling?

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2010 elections

Gallup: Republican Congressional Ballot Lead Highest Ever

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 30, 2010, 5:24PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Gallup is reporting that the GOP lead in congressional generic polling is now 10 points -- the largest lead for the party in the storied polling firm's history. The poll asks respondents which party they would prefer to see in control of Congress. Republicans now lead Gallup's generic ballot 51-41.

Gallup attributes the double-digit Republican lead in its latest polling to the massive GOP advantage in voter enthusiasm, a story we've been talking about all year. The newest Gallup numbers show Republicans with a staggering 25% advantage in voter enthusiasm. What does that mean in real terms? "Republicans are now twice as likely as Democrats to be 'very' enthusiastic about voting," the pollster writes.

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Dick Durbin

Durbin Backs Filibuster Reform

Brian Beutler | July 28, 2010, 5:56PM

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

The Senate's second highest ranking Democrat lent his support today to a growing effort, spearheaded by more junior members, to eliminate or diminish the power of the minority to enforce a 60 vote requirement on Senate business.

"I think there is a high level of frustration and a feeling that we missed many opportunities," Durbin told reporters this afternoon, in response to a question from TPMDC. "And also a lot of us have been completely worn down by a requirement of 60 votes on everything. This was rare when I got here 14 years ago and now it is rare otherwise".

Durbin used as an example one of his own initiatives, which was nearly killed by the supermajority requirement.

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Republicans

Top Five Dumbest Ideas Republicans Had On The Road Back To Relevance

Brian Beutler | July 9, 2010, 1:43PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele and one of his interns

It's time for the GOP to get down to brass tacks. Republicans are positively giddy at the prospect of retaking the House of Representatives, but, to make their dreams a reality, they have to be more than just the Party of No. They have to develop and disseminate an actual agenda. To do that they're teaming up with the party faithful and K Street lobbyists to produce a new platform. It's less providing leadership than being led, but at least it's something.

But if you feel like this is déjà vu all over again, that's because it is. In the years since they lost their majority, and in the months since Obama took office, Republicans have tried time and again to cast themselves as more than a (dis)loyal minority, introducing policy ideas, rebranding efforts, and other gimmicks. All of them have quickly fizzled and been swept into the dustbin, never to be mentioned again.

Whether this latest effort stands the test of time or not is an open question. But with that in mind, here's a highlight reel of failed Republican renaissances.

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